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'The roof of the house is going to be a power plant'

By Tracy HanesToronto Star

Wed., May 5, 2010

Homebuyers in the Kingsfield subdivision in Oshawa will have the opportunity to generate energy — and income — from their roofs.

Marshall Homes has become the first subdivision builder in Ontario to participate in Pure Energies’ Solar Power Community, a program to install and service rooftop photovoltaic (solar) systems on new houses in designated subdivisions at no charge to homeowners. They’ll receive a portion of the income produced by their individual system (which feeds energy into the power grid) up to a maximum $1,200 per year.

Pure Energies solar panels are being installed on the model home at Marshall Homes' Kingsfield development in Oshawa. (TRACY HANES PHOTO)

A system has been installed on the roof of the Kingsfield model home and went into operation last week.

Toronto-based Pure Energies formed last summer to capitalize on business opportunities presented by Ontario’s Green Energy Act, says president and CEO Zbigniew Barwicz. The company, which designs, installs, finances and operates residential rooftop systems has partnered with Suntech Power and SMA America, the world’s largest supplier of solar panels and inverters.

By working with subdivision builders, Barwicz says Pure Energies can deal in volume and provide free to homeowners systems that would normally cost $40,000 to $80,000. Pure Energies will derive income from Ontario Power Authority’s feed-in tariff, which pays 80 cents for every kilowatt hour generated by residential solar PV systems of 10 kilowatts or less, and pay a percentage to the homeowner.

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If a homeowner were to install his own rooftop PV panels, a three-kilowatt system would generate about $7 a day, according to the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure. But such a system would cost about $30,000, making it cost-prohibitive for many homeowners. Pure Energies will enter into a 20-year lease arrangement with the homeowner, who can buy the system for $1 after the arrangement expires.

“I went down there (to Pure Energies) and after 20 minutes, I said 'I’m in,’” says Marshall. “I think it’s a really cool thing to do. The roof of the house is going to be a power plant.”

Marshall says Pure Energies’ program offers an economically viable way for builders and homeowners to adopt solar PV technology at no cost. It also helps to reduce the environmental footprint of subdivisions and generate more revenue for the homeowner.

“From our perspective, it’s a solution that ties in directly with our long-term goal of building homes that have a zero-energy footprint,” says Marshall.

“Craig’s a visionary,” says Barwicz. “He’s about five to seven years ahead of everyone else.”

Marshall was one of the first builders to adopt Energy Star for Homes as a standard and the first to offer solar-powered hot water heaters and solar geothermal heating and cooling in production homes. Pure Energies will be installing a system on the roof of a model bungalow he’s building at Kingfield, which will be used to showcase the technology to homebuyers and other Ontario builders.

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A roof must have south, west or east exposure and have at least 350 square feet of area for the solar panels, says Barwicz. Marshall’s model home faces south and has 900 square feet of solar panels, which can handle a 10-kilowatt system and will yield the maximum $1,200 payback per year. There are about 80 homes in Kingsfield and virtually all of them are suitable for a PV system, says Marshall.

Barwicz believes the program will dramatically accelerate the adoption of solar energy in Ontario by eliminating design headaches and upfront cost for homeowners, while providing them with a performance guarantee and steady source of income over a 20-year period (the provincial tariff program requires a 20-year contract). At the end of the contract, Barwicz says homeowners who buy their systems for $1 should get another 10 to 15 years performance from them.

Barwicz says his company will be able to supply up to 17 megawatts of solar energy systems for the Ontario marketplace in 2010 alone. That is the equivalent energy required to heat and cool 6,000 homes for a year. In terms of reducing the province’s carbon footprint, it’s like taking 3,000 cars off the road and eliminating the emission of 16,000 metric tons of CO2 per year.

“Pure Energies recognizes the tremendous opportunities created by the Green Energy Act and has made a smart decision to invest in Ontario,” said Sandra Pupatello, minister of Economic Development and Trade. “We welcome this investment and the hundreds of new jobs that will support the growing demand for solar energy in the residential market.’

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